Chapter 39 "You are a compassionate person, so I will strike you first..."
Meanwhile, the four travelers continued westward, not bothering to rest, and covered more than a hundred miles overnight.
As dawn broke, the elder, being a mere mortal, could not endure the hardship and grievances and began to complain.
Seeing that it was already dawn, the traveler told him to rest in the woods for a while.
So the elder dismounted, and Sha Wujing put down his load.
Bao'e was also sleepy, but she still had the energy to point at the elder and laugh, "Master, this horse has carried you all the way without complaining, how can you sigh first? If it could chant sutras, it would really curse you to death."
This angered Sanzang, who frowned and looked distressed, and he sat further away.
The white dragon horse snorted and flicked its tail to pat her back.
The Monkey King laughed and said, "Wumiao, only you could say that. The White Dragon Horse doesn't usually speak, and Sha Wujing is honest. If I, Sun Wukong, were to say it, he would definitely start chanting sutras again."
Bao'e said, "I'm an honest person too, but I don't have that headband you wear on your head, so I'm not afraid of Master chanting spells."
“That’s right, that’s right.” The traveler chuckled. He didn’t feel sleepy and jumped up to the tree to play.
Bao'e, dragging her rake, found a soft spot in the grass to sleep.
She slept soundly and didn't dream much. Just before she woke up, she vaguely saw someone talking to Sanzang.
The man was thin, dressed in a Taoist robe, holding a whisk, and chatting idly with the elder.
Bao'e saw that he was an old Taoist priest and didn't want to pay attention to him, so she went to sleep.
Before she could lie down, she suddenly saw the pilgrim raise his golden cudgel and strike the old Taoist priest on the head.
Bao'e nodded and murmured, "Good monkey, it beats everyone it sees. It should keep fighting westward and beat all the demons along the way half to death, then the monk won't have to worry about being eaten. Good monkey, truly a good monkey."
After she finished speaking, she lay back and sprawled out, ready to sleep.
Before she could even close her eyes, everything around her suddenly went dark.
Startled, the dazed man scrambled to his feet and exclaimed, "Oh no! It's getting dark, and we haven't eaten yet!"
The traveler grabbed her and laughed, "Silly girl, stop yelling. The sun has just risen; where is it going to set? That Taoist priest used some trick to gather us all into his sleeves."
Bao'e then realized that the four people and the horse, a total of five, were all in this dark and gloomy place.
She asked, "Why did he arrest us?"
The traveler chuckled coldly: "He is Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple. This scoundrel listened to the slander of his two disciples and mistook us for thieves who stole ginseng fruit, and he wants to punish us."
“You impudent monkey,” the elder said disapprovingly, “if he has wronged us, we should explain things to him properly and then beat him. You couldn’t control yourself and dragged me into this disaster.”
The Great Sage said, “Master, did he listen to you? He only sees you as a troublemaker. No need to say anything more, just jump out of this sleeve, and I will have a way to subdue him.”
Sha Wujing said, "What my eldest brother said makes some sense. Master, that Taoist priest is not someone you just heard about."
The elder had no choice but to sigh repeatedly.
The immortal swept them up with his sleeve and took them back to Wuzhuang Temple, where the four of them were tied to pillars in the main hall.
With another flick of his whisk, he revealed his true form.
It turned out he wasn't an old Taoist priest in worn-out robes, but a young one.
The Taoist priest had a head of black hair tied high with a crown, delicate eyebrows, and phoenix eyes; she was truly a beautiful woman.
He was draped in a crane-feather cloak, holding a jade whisk, and soared gracefully like a jade immortal.
When Bao'e saw him, she stared intently, forgetting how tightly the ropes binding her were tied, and stared blankly at him.
Unaware of the danger, Zhen Yuanzi draped the jade whisk over his arm and asked, "Qingfeng and Mingyue, were they the ones who stole the ginseng fruit?"
Qingfeng and Mingyue stepped out from among the lesser immortals, carefully examined them, and nodded, saying, "Master, it's them! Not only did they steal the ginseng fruit, but they also tried to run away!"
Zhen Yuanzi looked at the traveler and laughed, "My two disciples are mischievous, but they don't lie. You impudent monkey, quickly take out the ginseng fruit, or I'll spare you a beating."
The traveler cursed the clear breeze and bright moon: "You damned brat! Your grandfather has never even seen what that fruit looks like, so how could he steal it? You've turned around and framed me, tying us up here for no reason. I'll really beat you to death before you'll tell the truth."
Upon hearing this, Bao'e, disregarding how handsome Zhen Yuanzi was, suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahaha! Good, good!"
At this moment, Zhen Yuanzi glanced at her and asked, "Why are you laughing?"
"Laugh at those two blind and deaf little Taoist boys, who happen to have a master who turns black into white!" She looked up at the sky and rambled on, "Heavens, heavens! Bodhisattva, you asked me to protect this monk on his journey to retrieve the scriptures, and it's one thing to encounter demons, but why don't you mention that there are Taoists on the road who can't distinguish right from wrong? You don't know that the monk is kind-hearted, and he insists on taking on this injustice!"
The group of minor immortals laughed so hard they almost fell over. Only the elder looked ashamed and sighed, "Wumiao, if you didn't steal it, just explain it clearly. Why treat this poor monk like this?"
Bao'e snorted and said, "What are you talking about me for? I haven't even eaten a single bite of vegetarian food. Aren't you happy being tied up with me? Do you want me to call your father and father over?"
Zhen Yuanzi was somewhat arrogant. He moved in front of her and lowered his gaze to look at her.
“Zhu Bao’e,” he laughed, “why didn’t you follow your master to cultivate? How could you go on the pilgrimage with this monk and learn the skills of a bandit to steal my ginseng fruit?”
It turns out that Zhen Yuanzi and Bao'e's master were old acquaintances, and he had seen her before.
Bao'e, however, didn't remember and asked him, "Why did you insult my master?"
Zhen Yuanzi: "When did I ever insult your master?"
“You’ve falsely accused me of being a thief, aren’t you insulting him?” Bao’e said. “Don’t say anymore. I’m a kind-hearted person. Just let me go, and I’ll keep this a secret for you and not tell him.”
Hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi burst into loud laughter.
He said, “Fine, fine, fine! Since you won’t admit it, then I’ll give you a few lashes first. Since you’re kind-hearted, I’ll hit you first.”
A little fairy brought over a leather whip, which Zhen Yuanzi took in his hand and weighed in his hand.
Panicked, Bao'e struggled wildly, crying out, "Don't hit her! Don't hit her! She's too weak to withstand a beating! What if she dies?"
The traveler thought to himself that this fool only knew how to eat and sleep all day and was not strong enough to withstand a beating. He had a head of bronze and arms of iron, but he could take it.
"Wumiao, don't lose heart, don't beg him." He then said to Zhen Yuanzi, "My sister is not a bandit. If you insist on framing someone, then hit me first, don't hit her."
The immortal glanced at Bao'e, who was twisting and struggling wildly, and laughed: "No good, no good, this is going to be interesting to fight. I'll fight her first, not you."
Sanzang frowned and said, "Amitabha, Great Immortal, please don't hit her. My disciple is greedy, but she is not a lying robber. I hope the Great Immortal will investigate. If you must hit her, as the saying goes, 'If the master is not upright, the disciple will act recklessly,' so hit me first."
“Not good, not good.” The immortal took the Three Stars Whip that had been soaked in water. “This Three Stars Whip of mine is made of dragon skin. Dragons love water. Zhu Bao’e was once the governor of the Milky Way. It is a perfect combination of favorable timing, location and human factors.”
Bao'e exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, oh no, this ox hoof has gone mad!"
Zhen Yuanzi raised his whip to strike, when suddenly a voice cried out, "Don't hit him!"
He looked up and saw a demon descending from the clouds; it was none other than Bai Gu.
It turned out that the demon was watching from afar in the sky. He was no match for Zhen Yuanzi and had no intention of showing himself, but when he saw that Zhen Yuanzi was about to beat Bao'e, he could not bear it.
Zhen Yuanzi put away his whip and laughed, "You wicked demon, you've been hiding in my Wuzhuang Temple for days, how dare you show yourself today?"
When the traveler saw the demon, he wanted to fight him, but he was temporarily bound and could not escape. Hearing what the demon said, he barely managed to hold back.
Bao'e couldn't help but shed tears, nodding repeatedly: "Yes, that's right."
Zhen Yuanzi asked, "What truth did you see? Could it be that you have some private affair with this Zhu Bao'e and are trying to deceive me with lies?"
It turns out that his act of taking the whip to beat Bao'e was a ruse; his real purpose was to force the demon out.
Upon hearing this, Sanzang suddenly looked at Bao'e and asked, "Wumiao, is what he said really true?"
Suddenly, Bao'e became absent-minded and asked him, "Who is Master asking?"
"That great immortal."
She said, "If you want to ask him, why don't you ask him yourself? Why are you making things difficult for me?"
"You!" Sanzang frowned. "I'm asking if what that immortal said is true."
“What did he ask?” Bao’e said. “I was a little frightened just now, so I didn’t hear it clearly.”
Bao'e stared at him blankly: "What happened with that demon?"
He added, "You have some kind of affair with that demon, don't you?"
But she asked, "Which fairy?"
“Master,” Bao’e said patiently, “Don’t rush, tell me what you have to say slowly, I’m listening.”
Zhen Yuanzi laughed and said, "Elder, don't talk to her too much. She's cunning and the most disobedient. She's never been able to be disciplined."
He then asked the white-clad man whether what he said was true or false.
Bai Gu then explained in detail.
It turned out that he didn't know how much longer he had to live, and in his vain attempt to achieve immortality, he boldly tried to steal a ginseng fruit while Zhen Yuanzi was away at the Mi Luo Palace.
Who would have thought that as soon as he sneaked into Wuzhuang Temple, the ginseng fruit tree disappeared without a trace.
“They were swept away by a black wind,” he said. “The black wind came from nowhere and went nowhere. At that time, none of them had entered the temple yet.”
Qingfeng and Mingyue exclaimed from the side, "Nonsense, nonsense! Master, don't listen to his lies."
Zhen Yuanzi, however, did not protect her as before, but instead waved his jade whisk.
The two little fairies collapsed to the ground one after the other, and a wisp of black smoke rose from their heads, indicating that they had been possessed by a demon.
"So he was a demon thief who dared not show himself." Zhen Yuanzi then ordered his disciples to untie the ropes and said, "I have wronged you and offended you. Please forgive me."
Tripitaka clasped his hands and said, "Excellent, excellent!"
Seeing that a fairy was about to untie Bao'e, Bai Gu stepped forward and said, "I'll do it."
He was about to help her untie the ropes when he asked, "Bao'e, does it hurt?"
Bao'e replied truthfully, "A little bit."
When the demon saw that her wrist was red from being bound, she couldn't help but reach out and stroke it, as if trying to wipe away the red marks.
His hands were as smooth as jade, and they made Bao'e's heart itch. Just as she was about to speak to him, she noticed that Sanzang was looking in her direction.
She immediately jumped out and stood still several feet away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
